Ashes of the crown

POV: Ariya (and Everyone Else Eventually) 🎒💥🧙‍♀️

"Let me get this straight," Jax said, holding up one hand. "We're about to break into a semi-cursed, probably-haunted, half-collapsed wizard's library in the middle of nowhere… to steal a golden goblet that may or may not bite?"

Lyra nodded, completely unfazed. "Correct. The goblet's enchanted. The Order needs it for tracking relics."

"Tracking relics or making haunted tea?" Jax muttered. "Because I'm not dying over some snobby cup."

Ariya sighed and adjusted her satchel. "We're not dying. We're retrieving. Fast. Quiet. No drama."

Jax grinned. "That's adorable. You think we do things without drama."

They set out just after dawn, the forest still damp from night rain. The ruined library loomed in the distance like a toppled crown, vines curling over shattered stone and broken windows.

Kael walked beside Ariya, every step precise, gaze alert.

"Stay close," he murmured to her.

"I always do," she replied, smiling slightly.

Lyra rolled her eyes from the front. "Can we save the subtle flirting until after the potentially deadly mission?"

"Can we just not die today?" Jax offered cheerfully. "That's my love language."

They entered the ruins carefully. The scent of moss and old ink filled the air. Books — some whole, some half-eaten by time — littered the floors.

Jax poked one with a stick. "If anything jumps out, I'm setting it on fire."

Lyra snapped, "No fire! These scrolls are ancient!"

"So are your jokes," Jax mumbled. "But we tolerate those."

The goblet rested on a floating pedestal deep in the chamber, surrounded by ancient runes.

Ariya stepped forward, flame ready in her palm.

"Alright. Let's do this."

Jax tossed her a grin. "I've seen this before. You grab it, and then—"

The moment Ariya's fingers brushed the goblet, the entire ceiling groaned.

"—everything tries to kill us," Jax finished, now sprinting behind her.

Stone blocks started shifting. A giant magical golem, sleepy and very cranky, burst from a wall like an angry librarian.

"I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN," Jax screamed.

"Keep running!" Ariya shouted, clutching the goblet.

Kael spun around and slashed at the golem's leg, buying them seconds. "Head for the light shaft! That's our exit!"

"Light shaft?!" Lyra yelled. "Do I look like a squirrel?!"

"Honestly? A little!" Jax shouted, diving through a gap.

The team scrambled up the stone ramp, dodging debris, enchanted books that bit, and one slightly judgmental portrait of a wizard.

Ariya nearly tripped, but Kael caught her by the waist and pulled her forward.

"Got you," he said, voice tight.

"Yeah," she breathed, "you always do."

They tumbled out into daylight, gasping and covered in dust.

Ariya held up the goblet, victorious.

Jax immediately flopped on the grass. "I'm retiring. This is it. Goodbye, world. Let the cursed teacup be my legacy."

Lyra, brushing leaves out of her braid, muttered, "I'm requesting a mission without ancient curses next time."

Kael just chuckled — a real one, soft and low.

Ariya looked around at all of them — bruised, bickering, breathless — and for the first time in days, she laughed.

Not a polite laugh. A real one. Bright and echoing.

"We're a disaster," she said.

"The best kind," Kael replied.

"Speak for yourself," Jax groaned. "I'm still cursed."

The goblet in Ariya's hand… chirped.